1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method and a computer network for operation of medical-technical computer applications in the network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The operation of medical-technical computer applications in a computer network requires that particular attention be directed to the installation sites of the computer. As used herein “computer application or computer applications” means applications that can be utilized by a peripheral computer, for example programs for controlling apparatuses, for observation and evaluation of images, for information acquisition etc. In contrast to computer networks for use in administration operations, or by financial service providers, or by production operations or agencies, medical-technical computer applications are used in hospitals, medical practices or emergency clinics. In that context, an error-free and time-saving functioning of the medical-technical computer application is essential because human lives may be at stake. This necessity in medial technical computer applications outweighs the economical utilization of a computer application that may be more important in a different operation context.
Various installation sites are possible for medical-technical computer applications such as, for example, an emergency ward of a hospital in which work is conducted under the highest time pressure and highest concentration. Installation sites within a hospital are also possible at which reaction speeds are of subordinate importance. Such installation sites are, for example, an archive or a library of the same hospital. In an emergency ward, seconds or minutes can decide between life and death of a just-admitted patient. In the library, by contrast, a longer wait time is of lesser importance. For example, a nurse's station or a chief physician's console also differ in terms of their importance as installation sites for a computer or a computer application in a hospital. A chief physician requires a medical-technical computer application, possibly for assessment of a just-admitted, critically ill patient; a nurse at the nurse's station checks the medication of a patient at his or her station with the same computer application. The different importance is apparent.